Yannick Stark is going to miss 6-7 weeks
Ouasim Bouy will be out 2-3 weeks

Marco and Wood will be fine.

Nils Quascher came to me looking to go out on loan. That's great, I've been looking for an excuse to bring up Uros Dimitrijevic, who is already a 2.5 star player, has the speed I'm looking for and high values in the right technicals. Mediocre mental attributes right now, though. I didn't want to juggle him, Quascher and Wood, but if Quascher goes out on loan, I can bring Uros up and get him some playing time in the reserve team and first team.

Markus Mendler wants to leave. Since Marco has really owned the AML position, he's pretty much been the odd man out. I get two immediate offers of $300k. On from a 2nd division team and one from a 3rd division team. Guess which one gets him.

In the 23rd minute, Marco scored off a free kick, but it was disallowed because he was offsides. And yeah, he was ...... waaaay .... offsides. So much so that I thought he did it as a lark.

In the 30th minute, my defenders sat back and watched as a ball went over their heads. Netolitzky sat in front of the goal, expecting the ball to go out for a goal kick. No one must have seen the Osnabrück player who ran down the ball. He scored easily.

In the 44th minute, my defender misplays a pass and their player gets a breakaway. Luckily he sent it a bit too high and a bot too wide.

In the 45th minute, a pass to Wood is a bit too strong, their defender stops it but takes one step too many (I'm thinking he failed a First Touch check) and Wood steps up and drills it for a goal to tie the game.

46th minute, Marco finally does what I've been waiting for him to do. He takes a pass, makes a move around the defender, and buries the shot. The GK got a piece of it, but his shot was strong and it finds the net.

In the 62nd minute, we hit a corner but a defender heads it out. Stahl had a chance but his shot goes too high.

In the 80th minute, they get a counter attack going, but their player kicks it off the top bar. That should have been a goal for them.

In the 86th minute, we go on the attack, Cutolo crosses it in and Wood heads it strong, but their GK is in the exact right place and it bounces out.

In extra time, Cutolo fed Wood and he had a great chance, but it goes off the side of the net.

Off a free kick in the 8th minute, Stoppelkamp kicks it from midfield to Wood, he holds the ball up, passes to Stoppelkamp who is running full force to the box, and the GK makes a nice save.

In the 11th minute, Suttner sends a lang pass to Wood, he directs it to the goal, GK makes a save sending it wide, but it doesn't go with enough force. Wood is able to get to it before it goes out of bounds and buries it in the net giving us the early lead.

In the 37th minute, Wood sets up Cutolo perfectly in the box but he misses wide. The commentator called it "an embarrissing miss". It absolutely was.

In the 55th minute, Stoppelkamp feeds a corner to a close by Roguljic who crosses it in and Cutolo heads in a goal to give us a 2-0 lead.

Off a corner kick in the 81st minute, the ball is headed out but it goes right to Marco. Unfortunately his shot was just a bit too wide.

In the 84th minute, the ball is crossed near the goal. The GK tries to get to it but Wood gets there first, but he just doesn't have a good angle. He hits it off the post.

In the last several games, for most the Aue game and the second half of the Osnabrück game, I was in Control rather than Counter, so I'm going to stick with that. My team seemed to play better with Control mentality, and I still got some breakaway chances. For some of the friendlies, I'm going to experiment with Go Route One as well as Higher Tempo.

Just a one game sample, but it looked like I got out of Go Route One what I was trying to get out of More Direct Passing. Saw a lot of very quick movement from defense to attack. My defense was leaky though. Suttner had an especially bad game (5.3).

Stark's contract is up in 6 months. I tried to offer a new contract and he shut it down before it started. Pretty sure I'm going to need to gain promotion to get him to talk new contract.

Wannenwetsch also shut down before talks could start.

Stahl's on board, though. He signed through 2019 for $27.5k per week (a small pay increase from $25k p/w). If both Stark and Wannenwetsch don't sign, my team goes down the tubes. Then again, if I don't gain promotion, I'll probably fired so whatevs.

I've gotten messages about Suttner and Wannenwetsch getting contract offers from other teams.

I talked to Wannenwetsch. Seems he had an issue with my asking price for him? Anyway, I told him he was underestimating his value to the team and that picked him up. Enough so that he was willing to listen to contract talks. I tried talking to Stark, but for him it's clear. Promotion or he's leaving.

Suttner.....I might just let him go. He is way too streaky. I'd rather have a consistent 6.7 player than someone who gives me as many sub-6.0 performances as he does 7.5+ performances.

Got an offer of $100k for Christopher Rech. Hey, $100k for a career backup, thanks.

I'm going to bring up ST Uros Dimitrijevic. I told him I'd get him some 1st-team playing time. He said he wanted to be loaned out, but I want to keep him in house to ensure he gets trained by my coaches.

One thing that worries me about Uros is that he's not getting big offers. Con gets offers around $3.7M all the time, Sabusi got offers of $6M-$7M...Uros is only getting offers around $375k, with the occasional $700k off.

January 3rd, 2017

Friendly vs. FC Bayern II. Win 4-1.

Saw Dimitrijevic make some nice moves and get an assist. He's already a great dribbler (15) and fast (Pace: 14, Acc: 16, Agi: 14). He'll run circles around some players in 2.Bundesliga.

Wannenwetsch signs to 2020 at $34.5k p/w.

January 8th, 2017

Friendly vs. Dortmund II. Win 5-0

I tried Wood at AMR (He's "Accomplished") with Uros at ST and Marco on the other side. That combination of speed was something they couldn't handle. And when Marco gets a good shot off, he really blasts it.

GK Vitus Eicher agrees to a mutual termination.

ST / AM(RL) - Dominik Masek - 21yo - CZE - 2.5 / 4
Signed to a Pre-Contract, it'll go through on July 1st, 2017. $8k /pw until 2019.
Signed him mainly to back up my wingers and strikers. I just sold Mendler, I'm not going to resign Cutolo and I don't know what's going on with Stoppelkamp. His Av.Rating in league games in 6.88 with a game here and there that's over 7.0. It's not that he's playing badly, just a step below what he used to. And he's getting $42.5k p/w. His contract i sup in July and his production doesn't match his salary.

Even if I keep Stoppelkamp, that gives me him and Marco. Wood if I decide to keep him at AMR. I'll need a good player to step in if they get injured or called up for international play (which frequently happens with Wood).

January 14, 2017

Friendly vs. Ludogorets. Win 1-0

They played a 5 man defensive line and kept them back so it was hard to get a lot of fast break chances. Possession was evenly match, but the action was mostly in the middle or their end. We did have 24 shots, but with so many in the box, it was hard to get any good shots. 9 on target, but most were blocked by defenders in the way. They only had 5 shots, and most of them came late in the game when my backups were in.

January 20, 2017

Friendly vs. RC Red Bull Salzburg. Win 3-1

This game was mostly played in the middle of the field. I'm not seeing any long passes, where my DLP or AP launch it and let my fast Wingers and Striker try to beat out the defense. I tell my two playmakers "More Direct Passing" to see if that encourages them to try that more often. There were a few times where it looked clear a s day to do that, but then my AMC just held up the ball and passed it short. But I also tell my DCs, hoping that will cause them to give it to the DLP (or AP if he's close by) and let them worry about getting it upfield quickly. I was going to tell my BWM DM to do the same (short passing), but Wannenwetsch is actually pretty good at passing, so I'll tick that on for when Stahl is in.

I felt I needed to keep Stoppelkamp. Even if he isn't the player he used to be, losing Mendler, Cutolo and Stoppelkamp would been too much and then I'd have zero depth at the winger position. He's agreed to a slight paycut. He'll be here until 2019 at $40.5k p/w, and we dropped the "match highest earner" clause.

Con's agent wants a new deal for his client. I was worried. He's getting just $1.2k p/w and thought an extension might break the budget, but he just wanted a modest increase and I was happy to give it to him. $4.2k p/w until 2020.

$8M seems to be the ceiling for offers for Dimitrijevic. Not for sale.

Scary moment in the 7th minute, GK Vlachodimos passed to a DC, but it was weak and their player stepped up, seemingly had a one-on-one but our defense responded fast and shut it down.

In the 14th minute, our GK made a great save to bail out Volz who got terribly beat by their winger.

In the 15th minute, Wood had a chance, but their GK gets just enough to send it off the post.

So far Vlachodimos has shown a bad habit of trying to pass it to DCs who are covered.

The ball was bouncing about near our goal, but when their attacker had a chance, he sent it wide.

In minute 33rd, a great chance from Dimitrijevic to Wood, but Woods shot is sent over the net by their GK.

In the 40th minute, a cross from Frankfurt gets headed in and they take the lead. López was the defender who got beat.

In the 62nd minute, I took Marco out (slight injury), moved Wood to AML ("Accomplished") and brought Stoppelkamp on.

In the 64th minute, Dimitrijevic had a great chance, but he didn't get all of it and the GK made an easy save.

In the 72nd minute, I take Stark off (injury, condition under 60%), move Wannenwetsch to DLP and Stahl to BWM. I made the sub in the 69th minute. Right before Stark finally comes off the field, he picks up a yellow card and will miss a game as he hits the limit.

In the 87th minute, after several chances that came up empty, Dimitrijevic buries one. Bouy with the assist. That was from point blank range too. He couldn't possibly miss that one.

In the 90th minute, Bouy had a great chance to give us the win, but their GK blocks it. He really should have scored there.

Here's something I don't get. Why am I just given a choice for "Goal Highlights"? I can upload a mostly prearranged highlight video of just the goals, but if I have to do it manually if I want the Key highlights....why not also a "Key Highlights"?

I guess because it takes forever to make a video...

I wanted to stop doing full match writeups because I felt like I was repeating myself and because they take a bit of time. I would instead just upload a video of the most important plays (not just the goals)....but it was a bit of a pain in the ass. And it takes forever to encode the video. I made a 3 minute long highlight video and canceled the upload after 45 minutes and it being only 50% done encoding.

A clash of 1st and 2nd, so I felt I needed a more experienced lineup so Wood back at ST and Stoppelkamp at AMR.

In the 9th minute, Con picks up a misplaced pass and runs at the goal....but he's a defender and his shot was not good. Went wide.

15th minute, my guys have this down to a science now...at least I hope. Bouy lobs it upfield from midfield, Marco wins the race to it and scores easily giving us the 1-0 lead.

So my assman tells me that I should remove Stay On Feet because we are getting too many fouls....huh, I thought that would help with fouls, not make more. Still, more fouls being a trade off for more chances to push the ball upfield...I guess.

They tie the game in the 47th minute with a free kick - header play. Looks like Kirchhoff is the one who misplayed it (the guy he was covering made the play and he misjudged the ball).

In the 54th minute, Wood on the breakway, one man running parallel to him, preventing an inside move. Still gets close for a shot, but their GK makes the save.

In the 60th minute, a pass from Wood to Marco sets up a nice chance, but Marco tries to lob it over the GK and ends up pushing it too wide.

In the 66th minute, I move Wood to AMR and sub Dimitrijevic in at ST.

Dimitirjevic gets a good shot off in the 77th minute, but the GK makes the save. It still nearly went in, but it bounces just wide.

In the 8th minute, Stark lobs it deep for Wood, and he tries to kick it right away, but he doesn't get all of it and the shot is weak.

In extra time, they nearly steal the game from us but Vlachodimos makes his best save so far.

Wannenwetsch doesn't get many chances to score, but he had a shot in the 8th minute. Stoppelkamp passed it into space, and Wannenwetsch ran up and booted it, but their GK sent it over the net.

They score in the 17th minute. Their winger got passed Achenteh, he crossed it in and got the goal.

In the 29th minute, too easy as López is caught flat footed and his man runs by for a pass and easy goal.

In the 33rd minute, Bouy gets it to Dimitrijevic on a break, but he takes one step too many before shooting and a defender is able to slide and knock the ball away.

At half time, I lit into my team and subbed out Cutolo for Marco.

In the 51st minute, a pass from Bouy to Dimitrijevic goes a bit wide, Dimitrijevic gets to it, passes it back to the middle of the box and Bouy runs up and buries it.

Out wide in the 59th minute, Achentah makes a nice move to get around his man, moves inside, passes to Dimitirjevic near the goal and at that range, Dimitrijevic won't miss. Great move and pass by Achentah.

In the 76th minute, Kirchhoff off a corner heads it in to give us the lead.

In the 88th minute, they mishit a pass which gives Marco a clean run at the net with it, but their GK makes the save.

And the rest are 2.5 star recruits or lower. Not as good as recent years, though Schmidt looks to be Stark's heir. Schmidt and Moll both get youth contracts. I'll let the head of youth development handle the rest.

They cross it to the middle of the box in the 40th minute and get an easy goal. To this point, I've had 5 "half chances", 9 shots and most of the action had taken place in the middle of the field or their end.

Both López and Donkor have been very disappointing this year. In league games, Donkor has an average rating of 6.92, López 6.75. López is 33 and his contract is up in June, so I'll be letting him go.

Donkor is 21 and has a few years left. I was expecting more from him and have been getting offers of $2M during the transfer windows. Unless he improves, I might just take that $2M to invest in another DC.

MR / AMR - Steve Clancy - 19yo - ENG - 2 / 4.5
Pre-Contract, signed for $16k per week, will be used initially in heavy rotation with Stoppelkamp, freeing up Wood to be used in rotation with Dimitrijevic at ST. The signing will go through on July 1st. I needed to bring in a young AMR. My only reasonable prospect at AMR is 16 year old Mike Endes who is a 3.5 prospect. yeah, it's a lot to pay to a rotation/prospect, but I really wanted him. He's already a fast (Pace: 13, Acc: 16, Agi: 13) dribbler (14) who is good at passing (13) and crossing (12). He's going to need work on his finishing (6) though.

DL - Carlos Grasso - 19yo - ARG - 2.5 / 4
Pre-Contract, $12.5k per week. I have one really great looking prospect at DL in 16 year old Matthias Fahrenholz, but I don't want to pin all my hopes on one player.

So I was thinking about my tactics today, about how my shots seem to be up since changing to "Go Route One" which took off "More Direct Passing" and "Work Ball Into Box", but I'm not sure if that made a difference in On Target and Goals. My suspicion was that my on target shots have either stayed the same or have actually declined. So I was going to go back to "More Direct Passing" and "Work Ball Into Box". But I crunched the numbers

On the old tactic ("More Direct Passing" + "Work Ball Into Box"), I played 7 games (3 with Direct Passing but not Work Ball). This is a small sample size, though, so I can't make too many conclusions off of it. But, I had 8 goals (1.14 per game), 69 Shots (9.85 per game) and 28 shots on target (4 per game). 40.5% of my shots were on target, 11.5 percent of my shots found the goal, 28.5% of my on target shots were scored.

On the "Go Route One", again 7 games. 11 goals (1.5 per game), 102 shots (14.5 per game) and 39 on target (5.57 per game). 38.2% of shots are on target, 10.7% of shots are goals and 28.2% of on target shots are goals.

So while the percentages do suggest that my shooting has taken a tiny bit of a dip in efficiency, my per game numbers have shown all 3 have gone up since change to "Go Route One".

But like said, small sample size, different opponents, etc. But, I'll stick with "Go Route One" for now.

In the 15th minute, Volz scores! He crossed it into the box, Wood cuts in front of the GK who looks like he'll catch the ball, the ball bounces off the GK and goes in. I initially thought Wood had headed it over the GK, but that wasn't the case. Wood missed the ball and the GK simply made a mistake trying to handle the ball. Either way, it's a goal and Volz gets the credit.

They even it up on a goal in the 25th minute. A free kick pass to the top of the box, a pass in and they bury it.

In the 32nd minute, the ball kicks out of their box to Stark who takes a long shot. Their GK makes the save but the rebound goes right to Cutolo who easily puts it in.

In the 33rd minute, Wood has the ball in the middle of the field and dribbles towards their net, their player holds him up and the ball ends up rolling wide of the goal. Their defender stops the ball right before it goes out of bounds but keeps running an extra step or two. Wood was right behind him and shoots the ball and scores easily. I'm sure their GK didn't appreciate that.

In the 49th minute, they nearly close the gap with a good cross and shot, but Donkor dives in front of the shot just in time to knock it away.

In the 54th minute, they do close it with a cross and header.

In the 74th minute, they tie it. Achenteh got beat, they pass it inside and Kirchhoff can't prevent a shot that Netolitzky absolutely should have blocked. Total fail on multiple fronts.

Even though we had a 3-1 lead, we were outplayed in this one and feel lucky to get away with a draw.

Few minor tactic changes. I've told my team to Drill Crosses. My team is usually beaten in headers and crosses. Also, fast players, I'd rather drill the cross than float it.

I've told my Inside Forwards to dribble more. If they make a move passed a player, other players need to move to compensate and that creates chances. I hate seeing them pass back when I can see the opening in the defense happening and all they needed to do was make a move and pass it into the box.

Only 4 games left, we are 12 points ahead of 3rd place Braunschweig and are tied with RB Leipzig for 1st place (they hold GD advantage). Unless there's a monumental collapse, I'll finish at least 2nd and gain promotion.

In the 36th minute, Con floats the ball deep down the field to Stoppelkamp who takes it in...only to shoot it right into the GK.

In extra time, we finally....FINALLY....score. 3 "Clear Cut Chances", 6 Half Chances, 25 shots, 10 on target, 0 goals...until finally a pass from Stark to Marco in the box sets up a nicely placed shot by Marco to give us the 1-0 lead and win.

Thanks. Hopefully this time I can at least survive year 1 in Bundesliga. If that happens, I think I can get on a roll with Marco, Dimitrijevic and Con continuing to get better. If I get bumped out again (and especially if I fail to gain promotion the next year), it could be very hard for me to keep the team together.

As the year went on, I noticed I did have trouble with some teams. Not even teams that were "better", but ones that loaded up on defense, or I simply didn't have the speed advantage. There were game where I simply could not keep possession. So I created a tactic that's similar to my tactic above, but more focused on keeping possession and looking for the shot inside the box, but still keeping my defense back to protect against the counter and still give my players room to be creative and make moves.

Sabusi is officially transfered. The $6.5M transfer was a new record for my team.

That also makes it a record for my team in total transfers in one year. $16.5M, breaks previous record of $10.5M.

Marco was pissed about me not letting him speak to Chelsea. I told him the bids were far below his value and he didn't like that answer. In fairness to him, he is still just being paid $1.2k per week....his contract is up in a year. He's about to be paid.

Team Finances
Budget: $850k p/w
Transfer: $2.01M

Would have liked to have a good sized transfer budget so I could go get a long-term solution to the DL position as well as another DC, but overall, I am happy with this. The budget will allow me to sign the young players who will be due big contracts while keeping the veterans around. Lots of salary bonuses kicked in to us being promoted, though, and the payroll went from ~$650k p/w to $788k p/w.

I change the budget and get rid of the transfer budget. I'm not going to get someone for $2M or less that's going to help at this point, so pushing the payroll budget to $880k p/w helps more.

Hamburger HSV offered me an interview for their job. I declined.

DL - Ali Ahamada - FRA - 20yo - 2.5 / 4
Found him on the free transfer market. Signed for $9.5k p/w. Decent speed (Pace: 12, Acc: 13, Agi: 14), can tackle very well (17), very good at heading (14) (but no jumping reach: 7). Needs some work on his crossing (11), passing (9) and marking (11). Very good work rate (16). Most of his mental and technical attributes are below Achenteh's, so he'll mostly be a backup, but he's got good potential.

July 1st, 2017: Friendly vs. Gladbach. Lose 1-2. First Half, Counter tactic. Got nothing. Down 0-2. 2nd Half, Gegenpressing, won possession and got a goal. Only 1 shot in the first half, 9 in the second. Gladbach is more talented than us and we definitely did not have the speed advantage so I didn't think my Counter tactic would work.

Seems I forgot about Dimitrijevic....he's at $1.7k p/w and wants a new deal. And his agent is the worst agent ever. He signs for $6k p/w until 2020.

I did get an offer of $8.25M for Dimitrijevic. Not for sale.

We're given 1000-1 odds of winning the Bundesliga title. Not the worst though, Leipzig was given 2000-1 odds. FC Bayern has Even odds.

July 8th, 2017: Friendly vs. Stuttgart. Lose 1-2. Saw the dumbest goal I've seen yet. GK takes a free kick near the corner, passes it to Kirchhoff and Stark who are standing near each other. They let the ball pass between them, their player takes an easy long shot to an empty net and scores easily.

The Dortmund head coach takes the head coach job for the German national team....that means the Dortmund job is open....I don't need any help losing my job, so I don't outright apply, but if they offer an interview....

I draw Stade (non-divisional) for the first round of the German Cup.

I sell Fotios Katidis to Bielefeld for $175k.

I come to terms with Ouasim Bouy on a new contract. He's signed through 2021 for $57k p/w (he was at $47k p/w), $8.5k Appearance, $500k Loyalty, 15% yearly raise, Wage set to $65k after 1 International Appearance.

Other contracts up in 2018. Marco (won't talk to me), Bobby Shou Wood (not sure I want to resign), Yunus Malli (not resigning, one too many AMCs with Roguljic), Daniel Martinez (GK prospect), Nils Quaschner (ST, need to resign if I don't resign Wood) and a few other prospects.

I transfer listed Malli and he wasn't happy about it. He wants to stay, but...thems the breaks. I gave him the PR answer of "prove it on the field" and he was all like "I don't think have to!".

I life of a head coach to a team that's not rich....The offers I'm getting for Marco are $7M+. He's in his last year of his contract. He might not resign with me.....tough decisions. Maybe I'll give it 2-3 months. If his attitude doesn't chance, I can't risk him just leaving and I'll sell him.

July 15th, 2017: Friendly vs. Anderlecht. Lose 1-2. I was in my Gegenpressing tactic most of the game. We got a goal, and they scored on a counter attack. At around minute 70, they were countering a lot so I switched to my Counter tactic. They promptly scored a goal and we never got any pressure offensively the rest of the game.

July 22nd, 2017: Friendly vs. Nürnberg. Lose 1-3. 3rd goal allowed was an own-goal. In Gegenpressing the whole match. I win Possession 61-39, but can't get many shots off (6). Allowed 10 shots.

Uros Dimitrijevic was named to the Euro U19 Championship Dream Team. He had 3 goals in 3 games during the tournament, 2nd behind Pablo of Spain (who had 6). He had an average rating of 7.67 (3rd place).

July 30th, 2017: Friendly vs. Frankfurt. Draw 1-1. We take the lead in the 81st minute and they tie it right up in the 83rd. Gegenpressing the whole time. Unless I see a distinct speed advantage for my team (in 2.Bundesliga, my team was ranked 1st in Pace so I had the speed advantage over most of the teams), I'll stick to my Gegenpressing tactic.

Stoppelkamp gets us started with a goal in the 7th minute. Achenteh kicks a free kick just over the wall and into the goal in the 11th minute. Kirchhoff off the corner in the 18th minute gives us a 3-0 lead.

The bleeding stops for the rest of the half. In the 2nd half, Wood scores off a header from a Stoppelkamp cross in the 62nd minute.

Thoughts on Tactics - What I need to make my fast break tactic work in Bundesliga

One thing I noticed while watching my Gegenpressing tactic in the friendly matches and the Cup game. It's boring. I loved watching my fast break, counter-attack tactic. It's just not going to work in Bundesliga, though. When I was in 2.Bundesliga, my team was ranked first in Pace, and I'd imagine (though never checked) that I was high on acceleration and agility. My team, overall, was faster than most.

In Bundesliga, my Team Summery page lists Work Rate as my best attribute, ranked 9th in the league. Worst: Height (dead last)

Two things I saw that caused too many of my fast break chances to fail were 1) Not getting a good start (First Touch) and 2) Slowing down too much on the dribble, or just plain mishitting the ball while dribbling.

Marco (FT: 16, Dribble: 13), Dimitrijevic (FT: 13, Dribble: 15), Wood (FT: 11, Dribble: 12), Stoppelkamp (FT: 12, Dribble: 14)....for this tactic to work in Bundesliga, I'd think I would need a few players that were not only lightning fast, but also 16+ on both FT and Dribble.

Outside of the striker and two wingers, I need my playmakers to have great passing. Thankfully, Bouy and Stark do. Bouy (Pass: 16, Tech: 17) (Bouy is also 16 for Long Shots, which is an added bonus), Stark (Pass: 16, Tech: 14).

My Fullbacks need crossing ability as well as passing. With my Inside Forwards sitting inside and my Fullbacks on Support, I saw them attempting a lot of crosses. Achenteh is decent for a 2.Bundesliga player (Cross: 13, Pass: 12) but not so much in Bundesliga. Con is lightning fast, but his technicals need a ton of work (Cross: 5, Pass: 9). He's already a decent defender (Marking: 12, Tackling: 13), he just isn't much of a help offensively.

As for the BWM DM and DCs, I just need them to shut down the opponents offense and get the ball to Stark. So nothing special for them, although Passing ability would be a great bonus, especially if I could tell my BWM DM to go with more direct passing.

So the only area I'm comfortable with going with my fast break tactic in Bundesliga is the playermaker positions. The rest of my team isn't good enough to pull that off in the top division. At least not yet. I have a lot of young, developing players. Maybe in a few years.

As for my Gegenpressing tactic, I haven't seen much yet, so I'm not sure yet how it's going to hold up against Bundesliga teams in real matches or what I need to make it better.....we'll see. This could be painful.

They score quickly in the 7th minute. Crossed it in, it bounces around a few time until a Schalke player sitting right in front of the net gets the easiest shot he'll ever have.

Only had a few chances in the first half, nothing very close. Saw a few examples of what I just posted about. Stoppelkamp easily was caught from behind on one play, and in a another, so was speedy Marco.

In the 50th minute, Wannenwetsch got sent off for getting 2 Yellow Cards. Which made the 4th YC my team received. This might be an issue...my guys got a lot of fouls last year due to Hassle Opponents + Stay on Feet. Might end up causing more fouls and more yellows now in Bundesliga...

They easily score a few more goals as my team, down a man, didn't have a chance.